Shandora and I stayed at the edge of the galaxy for almost a day, plus we were delayed for a while on the Imperial Admiral before, so it was basically like "missing" for a whole day. However, because we were slightly behind when we set off,
Celine has been vaccinated, and the latter did not have any doubts about our whereabouts that day. This is rare and fully proves the battle sister's trust in Sandora and me - after all, this is an emergency period, and the pagans are
This incident made the trainee priests in the town panic, and the entire town was almost closed to entry and exit.
And Sandora and I soon received good news after we came back: the papal edict from the Holy City of the Holy See had been issued, and Celine had the opportunity to face the Pope directly. And just as she expected, Sandora and I also had to
Follow along for a trip.
In fact, it doesn't matter whether we have this invitation or not. At most, Shandora and I can directly land in the Holy City to find someone, but that will definitely be a bit confusing and troublesome, so we have waited until today. And it turns out that this kind of waiting is valuable.
’s: If we hadn’t waited patiently, we wouldn’t have learned from the female leader of the technological revivalist group that the pope changes every hundred years, and that the real secret may be in the hands of the cardinal. If we find the wrong person then, we may have wasted a lot of effort. Now.
There is no need to think about anything. The invitation letter to the Holy Capital has been delivered to us. Sandora and I can just wait and set off.
During dinner, Celine announced the news of the "Pope's summons". The biggest change of this single mother-type battle nun who was already at work compared to a few days ago was that she had a more vigorous and resolute feeling, although that kind of attitude was always absent.
The tired expression lingered after she woke up, but she really had a lively attitude when she spoke and acted. I suspect she must have been like this when she was still an adventurer. The lifeless atmosphere when I saw her a few days ago
Needless to say, it was just brought about by these years of hard life.
"We'll leave the day after tomorrow. We only have one day to prepare tomorrow, so time is tight, but you guys travel frequently, so there shouldn't be any problem." At the dining table, Celine nodded to Shandora and I while cutting pancakes for the little girl Ellu.
"Because the Pope personally summoned us, we can ride on the church's wind-riding giant eagle. This will save time. Counting the rest and transfers, we can reach the Holy Capital in two days. But you have never ridden that kind of giant beast, right? Even if it is an adventure,
Or, the opportunity to fly in the air may not be so easy to come by. I will apply to prepare a wind-controlling giant eagle with a closed pod for you. Miss Shandora looks...very light. The two of you will be together.
I won’t be afraid anymore.”
"It's okay, we are not afraid of 'flying'," I waved my hand, thinking that the wind-controlling giant eagle should be a means of transportation that can only be used by high-end people in this world. It seems that after losing its superb technology, the church had to find some replacements from beasts.
It is a product, but its popularity must not be very high. At least formal clergy like Celine can only obtain "flying permission" under special circumstances. "Look at Sandora, she flies around all the time.
I also have a lot of flying experience.”
Sandra Ball is lazily soaking in a huge soup pot at the moment, she is using this to satisfy her appetite from a spiritual level. But no matter what, I still feel like she is like a big balloon floating on the soup -
- Of course, these words cannot be said, otherwise she will inevitably jump on the spot angrily and splash everyone present with vegetable soup. Her Majesty the Queen groaned and swayed a few times: "Yes, flying is a very common thing
, in fact, I can definitely fly faster than that wind-controlling giant eagle of yours."
Celine looked at the sandora ball with a strange life form, and then at me, the mysterious "adventurer and scholar" who married a ball as his wife. She twitched the corner of her mouth and lowered her head to eat, as if she didn't intend to interact with our abnormal two.
The group continued to communicate.
"Mom, can I follow you?" The little girl Ailu lowered her head and acted like a good child for a long time. At this time, she finally couldn't help but speak out. She lifted the table and looked at Celine. Her big eyes were full of expectation, "I
I want to see the Pope. People say that the Pope is eight feet tall and eight feet tall..."
"Don't talk nonsense, keep respect for the Pope," Celine immediately gave her daughter a stern look. Then she shook her head, "This is not a fun outing. It's still the same as before. You go to Aunt Assali, I've made arrangements.
Now, you’ll be staying at Elsali’s house for half a month. But I’ll probably be back before then, just to report some things. The specific actions of the church’s upper echelons shouldn’t have anything to do with me.”
It seems that this is not the first time that Ellu has been left at home. Celine probably has to go to the archdiocese or the holy city every once in a while to report something (she is also the person in charge of one place, and she usually doesn't have much work.
During the holidays, you always have to punch in a card and get your salary, etc.), but the little girl still tried to show that the whole world owed her eight million: "But the pancakes made by Aunt Aisali can almost knock off your teeth.
.”
Celine's expression froze, and then she turned away, her tone less confident: "...You can't say that when you go to your aunt's house. You have always been taken care of by her since you were a child. But she does have some problems with baking pancakes.
...Why don’t you make some temporary changes and go find your Uncle Ford?”
Ellu's face immediately turned green: "No, Uncle Ford tricked me into eating spicy green vegetables. It's very spicy."
What a harmonious and friendly mother and daughter. By the way, Sandora, have you soaked enough? You have soaked enough, can you let my noodles go in and soak? Chewing the noodles dry will make you choke!
There is no need to elaborate on the preparations for the next day's trip. Sandora and I didn't have anything to prepare anyway. We just held a travel bag and pretended that we had luggage. Anyway, I could take out whatever I needed on the road from this travel bag.
The wilderness survival knife can reach the wilderness survival island without any problem. Early on the third day, Celine sent Ellu to her friend’s house, then locked the door of the hotel and led us to the square in front of the church. There were some huge "
"Eagle" and several monks in black clothes are already waiting here.
The wind-riding giant eagle... is actually not as powerful as imagined. Although it has the name "eagle", it actually looks more like a weird-looking vulture. I don't know this giant bird that is several meters long.
Are they the creatures that originally existed on this planet, or are they the products of the transformation of the original ancient civilization (after all, their shapes do not look like the result of natural evolution). In short, they are the alternative transportation after the world loses airplanes and airships.
tool, and seems to be the fastest one. Each giant eagle has a seat fixed on its back, comes with reliable straps and a primitive parachute backpack (God knows how effective it is). These wind-controlling giant eagles are from
The men in black robes who were transferred from the neighboring archdiocese and came here with them are the "aerial knights" of the church. They serve as guards and guides along the way. As expected, these aerial knights are equipped with advanced weapons. People in this world
We call it a holy outfit, but it's actually something like a particle rifle.
I imagined a group of medieval-style monks wearing divine robes riding on fantasy giant eagles, shouting slogans of the gods while fighting with particle rifles and small rockets. This scene is really exciting!
It is obvious that such cool things rarely appear in this small town. A few wind-controlling giant eagles attracted civilians and naughty children all over the valley to watch. The little girl Ailu was driven away by her mother in advance, otherwise at this time
They must have also caused trouble at the scene. However, all the civilians were standing far away from the wind-controlling giant eagle, and even the naughty children consciously refused to come up casually. It seemed that people were quite afraid of these fierce-looking creatures.
“It’s been a long time since I rode this thing,” Celine looked at the huge raptor in front of her. She couldn’t help but look nostalgic, “Ordinary adventurers don’t have the opportunity to fly casually.
When I was in the church, I rode a giant eagle for a while because every clergyman had to learn to fly. However, what I learned back then were skills that would only be used in battles. If ordinary people just wanted to ride on it... it would be fine.
Difficulties, overcome fear, keep warm. Make sure to tie the rope, close your eyes and wait to reach the destination. By the way, your giant eagle is the one next to you. Although Mr. Scholar, you said that you have flight experience, you have learned how to domesticate it.
The giant eagle is much faster than the rental giant eagle that adventurers have access to. Remember to check the binding rope carefully."
"Oh, no problem." I came to the side of my giant eagle and couldn't help but pointed to a small round basket with a lid next to the seat and asked, "What is this for? Why doesn't it exist on other people's giant eagles?
?”
"Um..." Celine's face was slightly embarrassed, "This is the 'seat' for Miss Sandora. The church colleagues discussed it all night and couldn't figure out how to prepare a seat for a ball. Ordinary tying ropes
It doesn’t seem very safe, and we’re worried about having you carry you all the way, or that you’ll be too tired, and then... isn’t it good?”
I thought about it, but I didn’t dare to let go of Shandora (for fear of Her Majesty the Queen rushing out in anger and hitting people on the head): "Haha, thank you for your kindness - but I think I can just hold her. And Shandora can fly by herself.
, please be sure to believe that her flying skills are no worse than these birds."
Although it feels like there are too many flaws, after all, these church personnel also have good intentions. It is difficult for others to ask them to study preparing a seat for a ball. I wonder how many aerial knights almost scratched their heads until they were bald when faced with this incredible request last night.
, so let’s just laugh it off and let go of the grudges. I believe that the Queen of Shandora Ball will not care about such a small problem.
Celine had a weird expression on her face (in fact, she often had a weird expression when she saw the strange duo of Sandora and I) nodded, then turned over in a cool and unrestrained way, and waved her hand with great momentum: "Let's go.
!”
We then embarked on a journey to the legendary lost holy city of the god. Time flies, and in the blink of an eye... Well, two days passed, and the group of people arrived at their destination without any trouble or danger.
I can’t believe that this journey has gone smoothly! As an epic hard worker who has encountered something every time he travels for the past few years, there has been no natural or man-made disaster or pagan hijacking along the way, except Sandora
Except for the ball falling from the sky a few times, nothing happened (by the way, Sandora also proved with practical actions that she does fly very fast), can you believe it?
Believe it or not, we have arrived anyway: a great mountain city, a holy religious capital.
This city is located in a cold land near the northern mountains. A semi-ringed mountain range isolates it from the ocean. Beyond the mountains is the ocean. On the other side of the ocean is an island chain called the Magic Pearl and the Mysterious Heritage. It is said that
There are many magical products from ancient times on the large and small islands. The base of the Lost Cult is located inland on the other side of the mountain range, surrounded by mountains. The warm monsoon from the ocean is blocked by the mountains, and the Holy City is located exactly where the temperature rises.
In the middle of the lower mountains, it is winter here for half of the year, but the time we came here is not bad. It is summer on the entire continent, and here in the Holy Capital, the ice and snow are melting, and the grass and trees are springing up.
This city is not a whole as I imagined, but is divided into several areas scattered along the mountains. It's like a large mountain was carved into sections and built into a city. The magnificent buildings hidden in the mountains are so beautiful.
It is scattered and lacks a touch of prosperity, but it adds a bit of atmosphere because it blends in with the mountains. The wind-controlling giant eagle we rode landed smoothly on a rocky platform higher in the Holy City. Since we changed trains once in the middle, this wind-controlling giant eagle
The eagles are no longer the same group as when we set off.
"This is the Windcaller Stone Platform. The church's wind-controlling giant eagles are managed by the magic faction, so you will see many magical creations on the Windcaller Stone Platform. Miss Sandora's 'Egg Curse' must be
It will be resolved by the cardinal of the magic faction." The two days of running around did not seem to make Celine, a seemingly weak battle nun, any tired. As soon as everyone landed, she began to introduce it to us with great interest.
Regarding the situation here, because we were afraid of leaks, Sandora and I both admitted that we had never been to the Holy City. So she felt that as a church member and "introducer", she had to act as a half-guide, "Let's rest here for half a day.
, and then go directly to the cathedral in the city. Oh, you can see the cathedral from here, the largest black and white building is, it’s amazing, isn’t it?”
Celine happily pointed to the bottom of the stone platform. Following the direction of her finger, I saw a large group of magnificent buildings hidden among the mountains. The most conspicuous one was indeed the highest palace of the divine religion known as the "Crown of Knowledge".
.It is a huge building with a ring of spires and high towers guarding it. The style is a bit like a Baroque church. The most eye-catching thing is its color scheme - half black and half white, clearly divided into two halves in the middle, like two halves.
It looks like a church put together!
"White represents technology, and black represents mystery. The Pope of Technology and the Pope of Magic jointly exercise the power given by God in the 'Crown of Knowledge', supervise the direction of knowledge in this world, and guide believers on how to cautiously contact ancient wisdom," Celine
He drew a strange symbol on his chest, with a happy look on his face, "When Ellu grows up, maybe we should bring her here to see the world. That girl spends all day thinking about random things at home. She is here
After all, I can't stay in the countryside. In fact, I have a plan - when Ellu comes of age, I will take her to settle in the Holy City. Anyway, the ruins of the ancient tower have been opened and will become an abandoned place after a few years of excavation. My
The mission has been completed. After Leif left, there wasn’t much to miss in that town, so why not go back to the Holy City, where I grew up.”
After a few days of contact, I have discovered that Celine is actually a very easy-to-talk person. She has a gentle personality and is not dull, and she can easily open up to people she trusts. This is an ordinary single mother: her life is a bit
It is difficult, and there is still some sadness in her heart, but she has a lovely child as support. The burden of life may be heavy, but she can still support it. She lives an ordinary life, works ordinary, and takes care of ordinary people.
Looking at her child, she would not know that she had inadvertently witnessed history, or even that she might become an important part of history. Speaking of which, the Shadow City has been expanded again, and maybe she and Ellu can try it out by then.
Settling down in a more prosperous and magical place? At least the weird ideas in Ellu's head will never be regarded as weird in the Shadow City.
The Stone Platform of the Windcaller is called "Stone Platform". It is actually a very broad irregular square. One side of the square is an open space facing the sky. It is the place where giant eagles and other flying camel beasts land. There is also a viewing area built on the edge.
The other side of the square is basically residential buildings and shops. Most of the people living in this city are church members. However, due to the strange rules of the Lost Religion, even church members have to live like ordinary people.
In order to make a living, they still have to work and do business in their own cities. The most common dialogue heard on the streets is this: "The God of Technology is here, Joseph Cardinal is well, how can you sell this carrot?" "The God of Magic is here.
Above, Archbishop Roland looks good - five coppers a pound." "Why is it more expensive than yesterday?" "Oh, Cardinal Wilson, who delivers vegetables to the market, is kneeling on the washboard at home. I hired a cart to make this dish myself.
Pull me up from the mountain, you have to let me earn a copper plate of my hard-earned money..." "Tsk, you stingy old man, in the name of the God of Technology, spare two corianders and I will make some noodles when I go back." "The God of Magic is on top!
Do you have two of them?!"
Basically, this is the rhythm of the streets and alleys.
The Pope receives visitors at night, so the church has arranged a place for us to rest. After all, for ordinary people, spending the past two days blowing in the natural wind at high altitude is quite tiring (the battle monks and battle sisters put it bluntly)
Not Superman), we were led by several welcoming monks to a hotel in the inner area of the Windcaller Stone Platform. This place seems to be specially prepared for pilgrims visiting the Holy City, but it is not a festival now.
, there are not many tourists here, and the surrounding area of the hotel naturally looks very deserted.
But it seems like there are some activities going on here in the Holy City?
Because the Windcaller Stone Terrace is very high, you can easily see the scene in the city below. I found that there were many black-robed or red-robed monks walking in a hurry on the broad roads dug or piled up along the mountain.
Clergy will only dress up like this when they are performing tasks or going out as the spokesperson of the gods. On weekdays, they all wear casual clothes (just like Celine when they first met), so these monks who are in a hurry on the mountain road
Apparently they were summoned for something.
They are all converging in one direction: the cathedral in the center of the Holy City.